Cunning propaganda by AFL and clubs

Richard Hinds

The Challenge was a well-designed, well-produced answer to the adverse publicity that had engulfed the St Kilda Football Club in the off-season.

THE St Kilda propaganda film The Challenge, shown on the eve of the AFL season, provided a few interesting behind-the-scene glimpses of a controversial and, to sections of the media, notoriously guarded club.

There were in-depth interviews with an unusually relaxed Ross Lyon, as well as footage of the often taciturn coach addressing his players in a manner designed to ensure supporters the back-to-back grand finalists had their minds on the job.

There was the emotional testimony of teary midfielder Lenny Hayes about how much the game meant to him. Defender Zac Dawson offered a public mea culpa about his off-field misdemeanours and captain Nick Riewoldt provided an explanation about some of his actions and statements during a tumultuous summer that, he led you to believe, had been mostly misunderstood.

Most obviously, there was Riewoldt sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with defender Sam Gilbert in the dressing room. The pair, who had fallen out over the so-called ''St Kilda schoolgirl'' scandal, had put any differences behind them. They were ready to go to war together.

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If this was not quite Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, this in-house production was a well-designed, well-produced answer to the adverse publicity that had engulfed the club in the off-season. A clever use of non-discerning, non-interrogative social media, given it was broadcast on the club's official website.

But, of course, that was not the only place The Challenge was shown. It was aired simultaneously by Channel Nine, which spruiked the program as a ''fascinating insight into St Kilda'' - without any mention, as far as I could find, that this was a piece of clever and quite reasonable propaganda, not merely the club's own interpretation of a series of incidents.

It is tempting to wonder whether Nine would have shown a program produced by the ALP about Julia Gillard's ''challenge'' in selling the carbon tax. Or a Liberal version of Tony Abbott's ''challenge'' to shoot it down. But there seems little resistance by the rights-holding networks about allowing their coverage to be used by the AFL to promote ''our great game'', rather than producing their own warts-and-all versions.

Before Gold Coast's first game, both Channel Seven and Channel Ten showed large chunks of film shot by the AFL during the Suns' first pre-season. Nice images of young players fumbling with the club theme song. Charity work with flood victims. Rousing speeches and evocative music.

Like The Challenge, there is nothing to suggest anything in the footage was at odds with what an independent producer might have captured given the same access. But, of course, through the AFL filter there is also nothing to tell us what was left on the cutting-room floor. So how do St Kilda and the AFL have their own productions - virtual advertorial - presented on three networks as if it had all the integrity of a Four Corners investigation? The most obvious reason is access - or, actually, the relative lack of access the media are given to AFL clubs.

When you are usually held at arm's length, the type of fly-on-the-wall footage offered by St Kilda, particularly, was clearly gold for Nine, even if the integrity of the film itself was obviously compromised.

Again, this is not to say The Challenge did not provide an accurate representation of where the club stood. The Saints did also allow a journalist access to the dressing room during a NAB Cup match this season, providing a rare insight into the club's inner sanctum.

But with the AFL having moved much of its media production in-house, you can expect to see a lot more of these propaganda films. With some clever producers and the co-operation of the clubs guaranteed, that will result in some more compelling images. But, inevitably, seeing will not always be believing.

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25 comments

Awesome, I was just about to start complaining that we don't see enough football-related programming on commercial television. I find that the breathtakingly in-depth and resonant soliloquies from the latest footballer often provide a soothing balm for all that intelligent stuff I have to do during the day. Thinking, reading and questioning are for hippies.

Commenter

Siobhan A

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 8:34AM

The almighty media - and their journalists who are all knowing.

Perhaps we could turn the spotlight on the media, exactly who owns them, what their agendas are and how they seek to maniplate and ill inform - and for what reasons.

And exactly who are these journalists offering their opinions on everything - and casting the dispersions they do?

The media are on the nose which is seriously contributing to Australia being the ill-informed and illiterate nation we are.

The uneducated telling their fellow uneducated what they do not know.

THAT is our media - whether it be print (including on-line sites), radio or television.

Australia is in a sad state.

Commenter

Anon

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 8:35AM

Is there any wonder why the club, or any club for that matter, has limited access for the media? You guys are like sharks in a feeding frenzy and attempt to write the news instead of reporting it. Australian journalism is dead.

Commenter

mandolin

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 8:36AM

Its only cunning if its even half believable. The timing of this one, and the pattern we have seen from the Saints raised a red flag, and that was only confirmed as you see no remorse in their actions for their ongoing embarassment and deviant traits.

Commenter

Davis

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 8:39AM

Maybe if The Age and Hun journalists cared more about the game and were creative with stories instead of using TMZ style journalism we could all be spared the trashy docos too - win win for society that would be.

Commenter

Racky

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 8:46AM

Cunning propaganda ? or rational response for fans, to show the club is not falling apart due to adverse propaganda, well done Saints, and hopefully other clubs will follow suite with their own "propaganda" for their fans.

Commenter

Geoffrey J

Location

Frankston

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 9:01AM

Ah yes, isn't it lucky we've got newspapers, because of course we can believe everything we read in them now can't we. Pot? Kettle anyone?

Commenter

Jeff

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 9:10AM

Personally, i hope people like Davis just go away and die painful and miserable deaths. Having sex is a deviant trait? Mixing acohol and prescription medicine is deviant? Unwillingly having your life set out in front of the world through the lies of '17 yo' conniving with a media addicted to schadenfreude is deviant?

Perhaps Mr Davis (or maybe it's Mrs Davis and you are just playing a little game?) you might just consider your own miserable little life and how odd you are yourself before judging the 'normalness' of another's.

As for the journalist, got any real news to report?

Commenter

Peter

Location

Mount Waverley

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 9:17AM

Only a bitter and twisted old journalist, who secretly hates the players and the game he is forced to cover would consider the StKilda insight to be 'propaganda' or 'spin'.

The players told their own story themselves, without the help of a journo. Perhaps you feel a little threatened by this? Only a jourrnalist can get to the truth? Please. Give me a break.

Commenter

Dan

Location

Adelaide

Date and time

April 07, 2011, 9:35AM

Davis, the St Kilda players should show remorse for what exactly? And deviant - what is deviant about having your Johnson out and getting a photo taken on a footy trip? Pretty normal behaviour for young blokes in my experience. Stealing those photos and distributing them on the other hand, while not necessarily "deviant", is in fact criminal behaviour. And lying about the whole thing to the media is unethical. The girl owed them an apology, and she gave it.